It appears that President Obama has pulled strings to help his shady banker friend win a tight U.S. Senate race by delaying an overdue federal report on his mob-connected bank’s failure until after the election.

Federal regulators will conveniently postpone issuing a material loss report on Illinois Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias’ Chicago bank (Broadway Bank) because releasing it before the election could create “another political headache” for Giannoulias in a “close contest” with his Republican opponent, reports the state’s largest newspaper.

Currently Illinois State Treasurer, Giannoulias helped operate the family bank before it was shut down in April for “unsafe banking practices” that have cost U.S. taxpayers $394.3 million. For years Broadway Bank did business with convicted felons and mobsters by providing them with tens of millions of dollars in “loans” that inevitably fortified their criminal enterprises.

Besides giving Russian mobsters cash, Broadway Bank also gave a jailed Democratic fundraiser and longtime Obama supporter and benefactor (Antoin Rezko) millions of dollars. In fact, Giannoulias’ bank gave Rezko a $23 million “loan” while he was embroiled in a huge federal investigation. Rezko eventually got convicted for bribery, mail fraud and money laundering.

Most recently Giannoulias was embroiled in the bribery scandal masterminded by convicted Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Court testimony in Blagojevich’s corruption trial indicates that Giannoulias, who was subpoenaed to testify, tried to sway the disgraced governor to appoint him to Obama’s old senate seat. The jury eventually convicted Blagojevich for lying to the FBI about tracking campaign contributions.

Giannoulias’ skeletons have not deterred Obama from campaigning hard—and raising big bucks—for his unscrupulous friend and pickup basketball partner. At one recent Chicago fundraiser, the president assured that Giannoulias can be trusted and that he’s committed to public service for “all the right reasons.”